The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened a formal investigation into Avride, the autonomous vehicle company that partners with Uber, after documenting 16 crashes involving its self-driving cars — including at least one incident that caused a minor injury. The probe, announced by NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI), centers on what regulators describe as fundamental shortcomings in Avride’s autonomous driving system.
What the investigation reveals about Avride’s technology
According to the ODI, all 16 crashes involve issues with the competence of Avride’s self-driving system. The agency identified recurring failure modes: the vehicles changing lanes directly into the path of other cars, failing to slow or stop for slow-moving or stationary vehicles ahead, and striking objects partially obstructing the lane. Notably, every crash occurred while a human safety monitor was seated in the driver’s seat — raising questions about why those monitors did not intervene.
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Avride declined to explain the lack of human intervention. The company did confirm that it reported each incident to NHTSA as required by the agency’s 2021 Standing General Order on automated driving. In a statement, Avride said it has implemented targeted technical and operational mitigations for each reported incident between December 2025 and March 2026, and that the frequency of incidents relative to mileage has steadily declined as operations have grown.
Where the crashes happened and what went wrong
The majority of the crashes occurred in Dallas, Texas, where Uber began offering rides in Avride robotaxis in late 2025. Additional incidents were reported in Austin. One crash in December 2025 involved an Avride-equipped Hyundai Ioniq 5 that clipped the open driver’s side door of a parked pickup truck, causing a minor injury to one of the truck’s occupants. Another December crash saw an Avride vehicle attempt to change lanes to avoid a parked truck but instead collided with a van traveling beside it.
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Other incidents included an Avride robotaxi crashing into a dumpster, and multiple cases where other vehicles turned into the robotaxis. Only one of the 16 crashes involved the safety monitor attempting to take control, according to ODI’s preliminary video review.
Broader context: Autonomous vehicle scrutiny intensifies
The Avride probe arrives as autonomous vehicle testing and deployment expand rapidly across the United States, drawing increased regulatory attention. Waymo, the Alphabet-owned leader in the robotaxi space, is currently under investigation by both NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board for incidents involving school buses and a January crash in which one of its robotaxis struck a child.
Avride, best known for its sidewalk delivery robots, is a subsidiary of Nebius — formerly Yandex NV — the Netherlands-based company that divested its Russian operations in 2024. The company struck a partnership with Uber in 2024, and in 2025, Uber and Nebius committed up to $375 million in strategic investments and other commitments to Avride. The investigation raises immediate questions about the safety of those operations and the adequacy of human oversight in current autonomous vehicle testing.
Conclusion
NHTSA’s investigation into Avride underscores a critical challenge facing the autonomous vehicle industry: ensuring that self-driving systems can reliably handle common driving scenarios before they are deployed at scale. With Uber’s backing and growing commercial operations in Texas, the outcome of this probe could have significant implications for Avride’s future — and for public trust in robotaxis more broadly. Uber has not yet responded to requests for comment.
FAQs
Q1: What exactly is NHTSA investigating about Avride?
The Office of Defects Investigation is examining 16 crashes involving Avride’s self-driving system, focusing on its ability to change lanes safely, respond to other vehicles, and avoid stationary objects. All crashes occurred with a human safety monitor present.
Q2: Where are Avride robotaxis operating?
Avride robotaxis are currently offering rides through Uber in Dallas, Texas, where most of the crashes occurred. Some incidents also happened in Austin. The company also operates sidewalk delivery robots in multiple cities.
Q3: Has anyone been hurt in these crashes?
One crash in December 2025 in Dallas resulted in a minor injury. An Avride Hyundai Ioniq 5 struck the open door of a parked pickup truck, causing a minor injury to an occupant of the truck who did not require hospitalization.
